Zachary Quinto Joins Ryan Murphys Horror Series

Zachary Quinto will play a gay character when he joins the cast of Glee cocreator Ryan Murphy's new haunted house series American Horror Story for four episodes this fall, reports Deadline.

The series stars Dylan McDermott and Connie Britton as a married couple who move into a mysterious new home in Los Angeles for a fresh start following the wife's miscarriage and the husband's infidelity. Oscar- and Emmy-winner Jessica Lange costars (and steals every scene) as a nosy neighbor. Quinto will appear in at least four episodes as a gay man who once owned the house and befriends Britton's character.

The pilot, which pays homage to classic horror films, particularly Rosemary's Baby and The Shining, as well as TV's Twin Peaks, is filled with creepy characters, nudity, sex, and violence that make it one of the most provocative series produced for television since Murphy's own Nip/Tuck. American Horror Story will premiere on FX October 5.

Quinto previously played gay characters in the sitcom So NoTORIous and in the recent Broadway revival of Angels in America and last appeared on television in the sci-fi series Heroes. His next film, Margin Call, in which he costars with Kevin Spacey and Penn Badgley, opens October 21.